CN111074204B

CN111074204B - Mask plate and manufacturing method thereof

Info

Publication number: CN111074204B
Application number: CN202010006283.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 薛龙辉; 张微; 肖星亮; 蔡建畅
Original assignee: BOE Technology Group Co Ltd; Chengdu BOE Optoelectronics Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: BOE Technology Group Co Ltd; Chengdu BOE Optoelectronics Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-01-03
Filing date: 2020-01-03
Publication date: 2022-01-14
Anticipated expiration: 2040-01-03
Also published as: CN111074204A

Abstract

The invention provides a mask plate and a manufacturing method thereof, wherein the mask plate comprises: the mask strip and the shielding mask strip are connected with the outer frame; the mask strips comprise first mask strips and second mask strips, the first mask strips are located at the edge regions, the second mask strips are located at the central regions, the first mask strips comprise connecting strips and through holes, and the orthographic projections of the through holes in the thickness direction of the mask plate are located in the orthographic projections of the shielding mask strips in the thickness direction. According to the embodiment of the invention, on the basis of ensuring no deposition of redundant materials in the deposition/evaporation process, on one hand, the weight of the mask strip is reduced, and the sagging amount of the mask strip is favorably improved; on the other hand, the through hole design greatly reduces the net-stretching force of the wide solid material area, makes the stress of each clamping jaw area more even, is beneficial to improving the flatness of the outer frame, and improves the stability of the net-stretching process and the deposition/evaporation precision in the subsequent process.

Description

Mask plate and manufacturing method thereof

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of display equipment, in particular to a mask plate and a manufacturing method thereof.

Background

The OLED deposition/evaporation is shielded deposition/evaporation through a Mask plate (Mask), namely, the deposition/evaporation material is only deposited in a pattern area limited by the Mask plate, so that the deposition/evaporation material forms a corresponding pattern according to the design. The Mask plate mainly comprises two parts, namely a Mask Sheet and an outer Frame, wherein the Mask Sheet is welded on the outer Frame through a screen stretching process.

The design of the mask stripes is typically based on the arrangement of the panels (Panel) on Glass (Glass). However, with the development of diversification of electronic products, the sizes and the patterns of the panels corresponding to different electronic products are different, and thus the design of the mask strips is slightly different. For example, the width of the solid material area (Rib) of the mask strip in the upper edge and the lower edge of some mask plates is far larger than that of the solid material area in the upper edge and the lower edge of other mask plates, so that under the condition that the mask strip has the same sagging amount, the screen tension required by the mask strip is larger, and the deformation amount of the outer frame is also larger. This is extremely detrimental to the subsequent screening and deposition/evaporation processes.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention provides a mask plate and a manufacturing method thereof, which aim to overcome the defects in the related art.

In order to achieve the above object, a first aspect of an embodiment of the present invention provides a mask, including: the mask strip and the shielding mask strip are connected with the outer frame;

the mask strips comprise first mask strips and second mask strips, the first mask strips are located at edge regions, the second mask strips are located at central regions, the first mask strips comprise connecting strips and through holes, and orthographic projections of the through holes in the thickness direction of the mask plates are located in orthographic projections of the shielding mask strips in the thickness direction.

Optionally, the shadow mask stripes include a first region and a second region, and a thickness of the first region is smaller than a thickness of the second region.

Optionally, an orthographic projection of the connecting bar in the thickness direction is located in an orthographic projection of the first region in the thickness direction, and an orthographic projection of the second region in the thickness direction is located in an orthographic projection of the through hole in the thickness direction of the mask plate.

Optionally, in the thickness direction of the mask plate, the range of the minimum distance between the first region and the connecting bar is: 10 to 30 microns.

Optionally, one of the connecting strips comprises a clamping jaw area at a free end and a non-clamping jaw area in the middle, and the width of the clamping jaw area is smaller than or equal to that of the non-clamping jaw area.

The width of the jaw area is: the dimensions of the clamping jaw area in the direction perpendicular to the extension direction of the connecting strip are the same.

Optionally, the mask plate has a deposition surface, the shadow mask strip is close to the deposition surface, and the first mask strip is far from the deposition surface.

Optionally, the mask further comprises a fine mask connected to the outer frame.

A second aspect of the embodiments of the present invention provides a method for manufacturing a mask, including:

respectively providing an outer frame, a mask strip and a shielding mask strip; the mask strips comprise first mask strips and second mask strips, the first mask strips are positioned at the edge regions, the second mask strips are positioned at the central regions, and the first mask strips comprise connecting strips and through holes;

and respectively connecting the mask strips and the shielding mask strips to the outer frame, so that the orthographic projection of the through holes in the thickness direction of the mask plate is positioned in the orthographic projection of the shielding mask strips in the thickness direction.

Optionally, the outer frame includes a first surface and a second surface opposite to each other, the mask strips are connected to the outer frame from the first surface, and then the shielding mask strips are connected to the outer frame from the second surface.

Optionally, the method further includes providing a fine mask plate, and connecting the fine mask plate to the outer frame after the mask stripes and the shielding mask stripes are connected to the outer frame.

According to the background art, in the mask plate with the wide solid material area, the required tension of the mask strip is larger, and the deformation amount of the outer frame is also larger. The inventors found, by analysis, that the cause of the problem is: in the process of net stretching, clamping jaw areas (Skirt) of the mask strips can be clamped by clamping jaws of a net stretching device to be stretched outwards for a certain distance and then welded; the mask strips having the wide solid material regions have a greater stretching force than the mask strips without the wide solid material regions, and the contraction force of the former mask strips is greater than that of the latter mask strips due to the interaction force, resulting in the former outer frame contracting inward a greater distance than the latter outer frame contracting inward.

Based on the above analysis, in the above embodiments of the present invention, the first mask stripes located in the edge region are formed with the through holes to form the connection stripes, and the shielding mask stripes are used to shield the through holes. The design reduces the weight of the mask strips on the one hand and is beneficial to improving the sagging amount of the mask strips on the basis of ensuring no deposition of redundant materials in the deposition/evaporation process; on the other hand, the through hole design greatly reduces the net-stretching force of the wide solid material area, makes the stress of each clamping jaw area more even, is beneficial to improving the flatness of the outer frame, and improves the stability of the net-stretching process and the deposition/evaporation precision in the subsequent process.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the invention and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

Fig. 1 is a top view of a mask according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the housing of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the mask strip of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the shadow mask stripes of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional structure of the shadow mask stripes of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA and line BB of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a method for manufacturing the mask shown in FIG. 1;

fig. 8 and 9 are schematic cross-sectional structures of partial regions of a mask according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional structure of the shadow mask stripes of FIG. 8;

fig. 11 is an enlarged view of a partial structure of a mask according to still another embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 12 is a schematic cross-sectional structure view of a mask according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

List of reference numerals:

outer frame 10 of

mask

1, 2, 3, 4

Mask stripes 11 shield the mask stripes 12, 12'

The first mask stripes 111 connect the stripes 111a

Clamping jaw area 111c of through hole 111b connecting strip

Non-clamping jaw region 111d of connecting strip and second mask strip 112

Deposition aperture 113 clamping jaw region 112a of second mask strip

The non-jaw region 112b of the second mask strip blocks the jaw region 12a of the mask strip

Masking the non-clamping jaw area 12b and the first area 12c of the mask strip

Second region 12d deposition surface 1a

Minimum distance H fine mask 13

Detailed Description

Reference will now be made in detail to the exemplary embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. When the following description refers to the accompanying drawings, like numbers in different drawings represent the same or similar elements unless otherwise indicated. The embodiments described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all embodiments consistent with the present invention. Rather, they are merely examples of apparatus and methods consistent with certain aspects of the invention, as detailed in the appended claims.

Fig. 1 is a top view of a mask according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a top view of the outer frame of fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a top view of the mask stripes of fig. 1. FIG. 4 is a top view of the shadow mask stripes of FIG. 1; fig. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional structure view of the shadow mask stripes of fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA and line BB in fig. 1.

Referring to fig. 1 to 6, the mask 1 includes:

the mask comprises an outer frame 10, and a mask strip 11 and a shielding mask strip 12 which are connected to the outer frame 10;

the mask stripes 11 include first mask stripes 111 and second mask stripes 112, the first mask stripes 111 are located in the edge region, the second mask stripes 112 are located in the center region, the first mask stripes 111 include connecting stripes 111a and through holes 111b, and an orthogonal projection of the through holes 111b in the thickness direction of the mask plate 1 is located within an orthogonal projection of the shielding mask stripes 12 in the thickness direction.

Referring to fig. 1, 3 and 6, deposition holes 113 are enclosed between the second mask stripes 112, and between the second mask stripes 112 and the first mask stripes 111. When the mask 1 is used for deposition, since the position of the through hole 111b is shielded by the shielding mask stripes 12, no excessive material is deposited in other areas except for the deposition hole 113 where the material layer is deposited.

Referring to fig. 6, the mask plate 1 has a deposition surface 1a, where the deposition surface 1a is a surface of the mask plate 1 close to the deposition source, and another surface opposite to the deposition surface 1a is a surface facing the deposition target. The masking mask stripes 12 may be close to the deposition surface 1a, and the connecting stripes 111a (first mask stripes 111) are far from the deposition surface 1a, so that the first mask stripes 111 may be closer to the deposited screen body, and the Shadow (Shadow Effect) generated during deposition may be prevented.

Referring to fig. 3, in the first mask stripes 111, each connecting stripe 111a may include a jaw region 111c at the free end and a non-jaw region 111d in the middle. In this embodiment, the width of the jaw region 111c is equal to the width of the non-jaw region 111 d. Each second mask strip 112 may also include a jaw region 112a at the free end and a non-jaw region 112b in the middle. During the web-spreading process, the clamping jaws of the web-spreading device clamp the clamping jaw regions 111c of the first mask strip 111 and the clamping jaw regions 112a of the second mask strip 112 to stretch outward for a certain distance, and then the welding is performed.

In the screening process, due to the arrangement of the through holes 111b, the weight of the first mask strips 111 is reduced, the weight of the mask strips 11 is further reduced, and the sagging amount of the mask strips 11 is favorably improved. In addition, the through holes 111b greatly reduce the net-stretching force of the wide solid material area, and the stress of each clamping

jaw area

111c and 112a is more even, which is beneficial to improving the flatness of the outer frame 10 and improving the stability and the deposition precision of the net-stretching process.

In this embodiment, referring to fig. 1 and 3, the width of the non-clamping-jaw region 111d of the connecting strip 111a is as small as possible, preferably less than or equal to the width of the non-clamping-jaw region 112b of the second mask strip 112 in the same column or different rows, so as to increase the size of the through-hole 111b as much as possible and reduce the weight of the mask strip 11. In some embodiments, the width of the non-clamping jaw region 111d in the connecting bar 111a may be larger than the width of the non-clamping jaw region 112b in the second mask bar 112 in the same column or different row, i.e. the size of the through hole 111b is smaller than that of the deposition hole 113. In one row, the line of bilateral symmetry of the non-jaw region 111d of the connector strip 111a is preferably aligned with the line of bilateral symmetry of the non-jaw region 112b of the second mask strip 112. In other embodiments, the rows and columns may be interchanged.

Referring to fig. 4, the masking strip 12 may include a jaw region 12a at two opposite free ends and a non-jaw region 12b in the middle. When 12 meshes of the shielding mask strips are adopted, the control on the sagging amount of the shielding mask strips can be properly relaxed, and the mesh tension is enabled to be as small as possible.

Referring to fig. 5, in the present embodiment, the regions of the masking strip 12 are uniform in the thickness direction. Referring to fig. 6, in the thickness direction, the minimum distance H between the masking strip 12 and the connecting strip 111a, i.e., the distance between the surface of the masking strip 12 close to the connecting strip 111a and the surface of the connecting strip 111a close to the masking strip 12, may be in the range of: 10 to 30 microns. Has the advantages that: the masking strip 12 can be prevented from scratching the masking strip 11 when the screen is stretched.

Referring to fig. 2, the outer frame 10 may be provided with grooves for receiving the clamping jaw regions 111c of the first mask stripes 111, and/or the clamping jaw regions 112a of the second mask stripes 112, and/or the clamping jaw regions 12a of the mask stripes 12, so as to make the surface of the outer frame 10 flat for cleaning.

The mask plate 1 of the embodiment can be used for depositing whole film layers such as an interlayer dielectric layer or a passivation layer in an OLED panel.

For the mask 1 in fig. 1, an embodiment of the present invention provides a manufacturing method. Fig. 7 is a flow chart of a method of fabrication.

Referring to step S1 in fig. 7, illustrated in fig. 2 to 5: respectively providing an outer frame 10, a mask strip 11 and a shielding mask strip 12; the mask stripes 11 include first mask stripes 111 and second mask stripes 112, the first mask stripes 111 are located at the edge regions, the second mask stripes 112 are located at the center regions, and the first mask stripes 111 include connection stripes 111a and through holes 111 b.

Referring to step S2 in fig. 7, as shown in fig. 1 and 6: the mask stripes 11 and the shielding mask stripes 12 are respectively connected to the outer frame 10, so that the orthographic projections of the through holes 111b in the thickness direction of the mask plate 1 are positioned in the orthographic projections of the shielding mask stripes 12 in the thickness direction.

In step S2, the outer frame 10 includes a first surface (corresponding to the surface facing the screen to be deposited) and a second surface (corresponding to the deposition surface 1a) opposite to each other, and the masking strips 11 are connected to the outer frame 10 from the first surface, and then the masking strips 12 are connected to the outer frame 10 from the second surface. The above process can reduce the manufacturing difficulty of the mask strips with 11 meshes and improve the overall yield of the mask plate 1.

Fig. 8 and 9 are schematic cross-sectional structures of a partial region of a mask according to another embodiment of the present invention, and fig. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional structure of a shadow mask stripe in fig. 8. Referring to fig. 8 to 10, the mask 2 of the present embodiment is substantially the same as the mask 1 of fig. 1 except that: the masking strip 12' includes a first region 12c and a second region 12d, and the thickness of the first region 12c is smaller than that of the second region 12 d.

The first area 12c of the masking strip 12 'of fig. 10 has removed a portion of the material compared to the masking strip 12 of fig. 5, thereby reducing the weight of the masking strip 12' and thus the net tension. The larger the extent of the first region 12c, the smaller the net tension.

In the mask 2 in fig. 8, the minimum distance H between the shadow mask stripes 12' and the connecting stripes 111a in the thickness direction, that is, the distance between the surface of the second region 12d near the connecting stripes 111a and the surface of the connecting stripes 111a near the second region 12d, may range from: 10 to 30 microns. Has the advantages that: the masking strip 12' can be prevented from scratching the masking strip 11 when the screen is stretched.

Fig. 9 differs from the mask 2 in fig. 8 in that the orthographic projection of the connecting bar 111a in the thickness direction is located within the orthographic projection of the first region 12c in the thickness direction, and the orthographic projection of the second region 12d in the thickness direction is located within the orthographic projection of the through hole 111b in the thickness direction of the mask 2. Has the advantages that: the second region 12d may be inserted into the through hole 111b, so as to reduce the distance between the Shadow mask stripes 12' and the connection stripes 111a, thereby reducing the deposition Shadow (Shadow) of the through hole 111b, and ensuring that the material is not deposited through the through hole 111 b. In addition, the mask plate 2 can be cleaned conveniently.

In the mask 2 in fig. 9, the minimum distance H between the first region 12c of the shadow mask stripes 12' and the connecting stripe 111a in the thickness direction, that is, the distance between the surface of the first region 12c near the connecting stripe 111a and the surface of the connecting stripe 111a near the first region 12c, may range from: 10 to 30 microns. Has the advantages that: the masking strip 12' can be prevented from scratching the masking strip 11 when the screen is stretched.

Accordingly, for the manufacturing method, the only difference is that: in step S1, the masking mask stripes 12' are provided to include first regions 12c and second regions 12d, wherein the thickness of the first regions 12c is smaller than the thickness of the second regions 12 d. Preferably, an orthogonal projection of the connection bar 111a in the thickness direction is located within an orthogonal projection of the first region 12c in the thickness direction, and an orthogonal projection of the second region 12d in the thickness direction is located within an orthogonal projection of the through hole 111b in the thickness direction of the mask plate 2.

Fig. 11 is an enlarged view of a partial structure of a mask according to still another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to fig. 11, the mask 3 of the present embodiment is substantially the same as the masks 1 and 2 of fig. 1, 8 and 9, and differs therefrom only in that: in one connecting strip 111a, the width of the jaw region 111c is smaller than the width of the non-jaw region 111 d. Has the advantages that: the smaller the width of the jaw region 111c is, the smaller the contraction force is, the smaller the distance by which the outer frame 10 contracts inward is, the higher the flatness of the outer frame 10 is, and the higher the stability of the stretching process and the deposition accuracy are.

Correspondingly, in step S1, the width of the clamping jaw region 111c of one connecting strip 111a of the first mask strip 111 in the mask strip 11 is smaller than the width of the non-clamping jaw region 111 d.

Fig. 12 is a schematic cross-sectional structure view of a mask according to still another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to fig. 12, the mask 4 of the present embodiment is substantially the same as the

masks

1, 2, and 3 of fig. 1, 8, 9, and 11, and differs therefrom only in that: the mask 4 further includes a fine mask (FMM)13, and the fine mask 13 is connected to the outer frame 10.

Note that only one fine mask 13 is shown in fig. 12 and extends in the column direction, and in practice, there is one fine mask 13 for each column of deposition holes 113, or one fine mask 13 for each row of deposition holes 113.

The mask plate 4 of the embodiment can be used for evaporation of fine patterns such as an OLED layer in an OLED panel, and can improve the evaporation precision.

The deposition surface 1a of the mask 4 is a vapor deposition surface.

The fine mask 13 may be located on the side of the mask stripes 11 and the shadow mask stripes 12 away from the deposition surface.

Accordingly, for the manufacturing method, the only difference is that: in step S1, the fine mask 13 is provided; in step S2, after the mask stripes 11 and the blocking mask stripes 12 are connected to the outer frame 10, the fine mask 13 is connected to the outer frame 10.

Specifically, the fine mask 13 is attached to the side of the outer frame 10 away from the evaporation surface.

It is noted that in the drawings, the sizes of layers and regions may be exaggerated for clarity of illustration. Also, it will be understood that when an element or layer is referred to as being "on" another element or layer, it can be directly on the other element or layer or intervening layers may also be present. In addition, it will be understood that when an element or layer is referred to as being "under" another element or layer, it can be directly under the other element or intervening layers or elements may also be present. In addition, it will also be understood that when a layer or element is referred to as being "between" two layers or elements, it can be the only layer between the two layers or elements, or more than one intermediate layer or element may also be present. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

In the present invention, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance. The terms "a", "an" and "the" mean one, two or more unless expressly defined otherwise.

Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the disclosure disclosed herein. This invention is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention following, in general, the principles of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice within the art to which the invention pertains. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims.

It will be understood that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements described above and shown in the drawings and that various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope thereof. The scope of the invention is limited only by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A mask, comprising: the mask strip and the shielding mask strip are connected with the outer frame;

the mask strips comprise first mask strips and second mask strips, the first mask strips are located at edge regions, the second mask strips are located at central regions, the first mask strips comprise connecting strips and through holes, and the orthographic projections of the through holes in the thickness direction of the mask plates are located in the orthographic projections of the shielding mask strips in the thickness direction;

the shadow mask stripes comprise first regions and second regions, and the thickness of the first regions is smaller than that of the second regions.

2. A mask plate according to claim 1, wherein the orthographic projection of the connecting strip in the thickness direction is located within the orthographic projection of the first region in the thickness direction, and the orthographic projection of the second region in the thickness direction is located within the orthographic projection of the through hole in the thickness direction of the mask plate.

3. A mask plate according to claim 2, wherein the minimum distance between the first region and the connecting strips in the thickness direction of the mask plate is in the range of: 10 to 30 microns.

4. A mask according to claim 1, wherein one of the connecting strips comprises a clamping jaw area at a free end and a non-clamping jaw area at a middle part, and the width of the clamping jaw area is less than or equal to that of the non-clamping jaw area.

5. A mask plate according to claim 1, wherein the mask plate has a deposition surface, the shadow mask strip is close to the deposition surface, and the first mask strip is far from the deposition surface.

6. A mask according to claim 1, further comprising a fine mask attached to the outer frame.

7. A manufacturing method of a mask plate is characterized by comprising the following steps:

respectively providing an outer frame, a mask strip and a shielding mask strip; the mask strips comprise first mask strips and second mask strips, the first mask strips are positioned at the edge regions, the second mask strips are positioned at the central regions, and the first mask strips comprise connecting strips and through holes; the shielding mask strip comprises a first area and a second area, and the thickness of the first area is smaller than that of the second area;

8. A method for making a mask according to claim 7, wherein the outer frame includes a first surface and a second surface opposite to each other, and the mask strips are connected to the outer frame from the first surface and then connected to the outer frame from the second surface.

9. A method for making a mask according to claim 7, further comprising providing a fine mask, and attaching the fine mask to the outer frame after the mask stripes and the shadow mask stripes are attached to the outer frame.